Ridge Holland details taking huge pay cut in last WWE deal
During a Monday appearance on Busted Open Radio, Luke Menzies (the former Ridge Holland) detailed taking a sizable pay cut in his last WWE deal.
Menzies signed a new one-year contract with WWE in 2024 that was a 58 percent reduction from his previous pay on the main roster. He was betting on himself by trying to show what he could do in NXT, but things didn’t work out the way Menzies intended. Shortly after suffering a foot injury, Menzies was informed last month that his contract was not being renewed.
When Menzies asked WWE in 2024 how they came to the valuation of a 58 percent pay cut, he was told that “they” didn’t see the value. Menzies viewed that as a contradiction because WWE originally wanted him to sign a three-year deal at that reduced number. He countered with one year as a way of proving himself.
“It was a contradiction. If they didn’t see value, they would cut me right there and then, right? If they didn’t see the value,” Menzies said. “So why offer me a three-year deal for a 58 percent pay cut? Which I obviously said — I said, ‘Look I can’t be tied in at three years for that amount of money. I can’t do that. I’ll bet on myself for a year. I’ll do a year and bet on myself and then let the chips fall where they may.’
“So I really don’t understand where the 58 percent came from, other than the fact that they said they didn’t see the value. And that lit a fire under my ass to say, ‘Well, I’ll prove you wrong.’ And obviously things went the way they went, really. You know, I got taken off TV and, like I said, to Evolve. Used it as an opportunity, tried to rebrand myself. Went to TNA, had a great time, wrestled Mike [Santana]. And then the foot injury happened and then I got, you know, not renewed and then subsequently fired because of my own actions.”
Menzies said he would pitch ideas and ask what he was doing wrong over the past year, but he was always told that everything was fine — though there was one point where a coach “put the jigsaw pieces together” and asked Menzies if he had put any feelers out elsewhere because his name had not come up lately in creative.
“When I got taken off [NXT] TV, I was asking, I was pitching ideas. One of the pitches was for me and [Yoshiki] Inamura to do a best-out-of-five series,” Menzies said. “I pitched a few things. And I kept asking, ‘Is it my promos? Is it my work? What do I need to do? What have I done wrong?’ And everyone says, ‘No, everything’s fine.’ And I’m like, I ain’t stupid. Don’t p*ss in my pocket and tell me it’s raining.”
The pay cut had a negative impact on Menzies’ finances, with him using his savings to make up for the shortfall that losing so much of his income created. Being told that his WWE deal would not be renewed while recovering from foot surgery was a tough blow. And, after getting bad news about foreclosure proceedings regarding his house, he voiced his frustration in a social media post last week. The post led to WWE terminating Menzies’ contract a week early due to disparagement.
“Obviously I had saved money, but because of the pay cut, those savings went into, kind of, helping with the shortfall for taking the pay cut,” Menzies said. “So they were no longer there, right?”
This week, Menzies has an appointment with a surgeon regarding a likely neck fusion surgery. That surgery would keep him out of action until approximately May 2026. Menzies noted that he believes WWE will be paying for the neck surgery and rehab because it is already an open case.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.